Yeah, but that's just part of Hiltz's character. He was always one step ahead of the game and so when things go wrong it usually serves more as entertainment simply because he gets to see something he didn't expect. That's why the ending of the series is so satisfying is because Hiltz totally breaks down and we get to see him panic.
One of my favorite twists of the series. =)
Irvine is more bada** in my opinion, but Raven is definitely a close second. Raven would be first, but Irvine has an eyepatch.
Well there is a fair difference between Chaotic Century and the rest of the ZoiRAB series. What set Chaotic Century apart was the fact that the battles actually represented how ZoiRAB might be used in real corabat. There's plenty of planning and strategy in Chaotic Century that you never see in the other series, which more or less degrade into shounen-style power up battles. I really enjoyed the fighting in Genesis because it was intense and very fluid, but I prefer Chaotic Century becuase the zoiRAB pretty much sat there and fired weapons like they would do in a real corabat situation. Having them perform all sorts of ridiculous acrobatic mid-air techniques is cool, but a bit over-the-top in my opinion. Furthermore, none of the other series manages to match the Death Saurer or Ultrasaurus in sheer power (despite how slow they are).
As for Van vs. Raven, I'd say by the end of the series they are pretty much equal in skill. But there's no doubt that Raven was the stronger pilot for the majority of the series.